EDITORIAL
BY T E R R E N C E O ' K E E F E
WATTAgNet.com
tokeefe@wattglobal.com
US consumers
still prefer cheaper
cage-produced eggs
With the tsunami of cage-free egg purchase pledge announcements this year,
you might think U.S. egg producers would be struggling to meet the surging
demand for cage-free eggs, but that isn't the case. A recent story on Marketplace
explained how the current glut of cage-produced eggs has resulted in very low
retail egg prices and that many consumers just aren't willing to pay as much as
$2 more per dozen eggs to get cage-free eggs.
The net result is that some of the increased production of cage-free eggs
are being packed and sold as cage-produced eggs, because the market just isn't
absorbing the increased supply of cage-free eggs. Free markets have a very efficient, if sometimes painful, way of
matching supply with demand. The
story has Terry Pollard from Big
Dutchman mentioning egg producers
canceling or delaying orders for cagefree systems because of the current
supply glut of cage-free eggs.
Delaying increases in cage-free
hen housing as a result of the current supply-and-demand situation
Consumers have access to shelves filled
is a logical response by producers,
with cage-free eggs, but most still prefer
but there is another option. At some
less expensive cage-produced eggs.
point, won't a retailer just decide to
offer lower prices on cage-free eggs?
If they do, we can learn how much of a premium consumers are willing to pay,
and the market will sort out how much of a premium egg producers need to
maintain cage-free flocks and to expand.
I hope the market is allowed to sort out what consumers really want, but I
fear that pressure from activist groups will be enough to take away consumer
choice when it comes to how U.S. hens are housed. I swore off shopping at BJ's
because of the company's cage-free purchase pledge, but now all of my other
shopping options have made similar pledges. If consumers keep buying less expensive eggs, will grocers really pull them off the shelves? ■
August 2016 ❙ www.WATTAgNet.com
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
303 North Main Street, Suite 500,
Rockford, Illinois 61101-1018
Tel: +1.815.966.5574
International Publisher:
Greg Watt; gwatt@wattglobal.com
North American Publisher:
Steve Akins; sakins@wattglobal.com
V.P. Director of Content and Innovation:
Bruce Plantz; bplantz@wattglobal.com
Director of Global Digital &
North American Agribusiness Sales:
Jeff Miller; jmiller@wattglobal.com
EDITORIAL TEAM
Content Director - Agribusiness:
Terrence O'Keefe; tokeefe@wattglobal.com
Tel: +1.704.795.4646
Digital Content Director: Tara Loszach
Nutrition Editor: Ioannis Mavromichalis, Ph.D.;
imavromichalis@wattglobal.com
COPY DESK TEAM
Managing Editor: Ann Reus
Senior Editor: Alyssa Conway
Associate Editor: Andrea Gantz
Community Manager/SEO Editor:
Kathleen McLaughlin
Staff Reporter: Roy Graber;
rgraber@wattglobal.com
Agriculture Reporter: Austin Alonzo
ART/PRODUCTION TEAM
Senior Art Director: Elizabeth Crosby
Production Manager: Bill Spranger;
bspranger@wattglobal.com Tel: +1.815.966.5427
Advertising Production Coordinator:
Connie Miller
SALES TEAM
USA/CANADA
Regional Manager: Pam Ballard,
Midwest, West, Canada;
pballard@wattglobal.com Tel: +1.815.966.5576
Regional Manager: Mary Harris,
East, Southeast;
mharris@wattglobal.com Tel: +1.815.980.5938
Classified Sales Representative: Craig Greuel;
cgreuel@wattglobal.com Tel: +1.815.966.5591
EUROPE, ASIA, AFRICA
Frans Willem van Beemen;
fvanbeemen@wattglobal.com Tel: +31.344.653442
EUROPE, L ATIN A MERICA
Tineke van Spanje;
tvanspanje@wattglobal.com Tel: +31.495.526155
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Ding Ding Li;
dingdingli@vip.163.com Tel: +86.137.640.39062
For article reprints and reprint quotes contact
FosteReprints
+1.866.879.9144 www.fosterprinting.com
SOCIAL MEDIA
https://www.facebook.com/WATTAgNet
https://twitter.com/WATTAgNet
www.youtube.com/WATTPoultryTV
www.linkedin.com/groups/
WATT-AgNet-4855866

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page.
If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.